1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to apparatus for illuminating a field of operation within the intra-oral cavity of a patient's mouth, and more particularly, to a finger mounted fiber optic illumination system for use by dentists, oral surgeons, and the like.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Dentists, oral surgeons, and other physicians who operate within a patient's mouth require adequate illumination of the field of operation in order to work most effectively. Numerous methods have been used in the past in an attempt to provide adequate illumination of the field of operation.
First, overhead lights equipped with parabolic mirrors and polarizing lenses have been used as a general source of non-glare lighting within dental examination offices and within operating rooms. However, such overhead lights must often be redirected during dental or medical procedures to keep the light directed at the point of interest, and the need to readjust the overhead light creates a distraction and requires additional time. Moreover, when the dentist, oral surgeon, or physician must lean over the patient to closely observe the field of operation, the overhead light is blocked. In addition, the light source is so far removed from the patient that it is often not possible to direct the overhead light source deep within the patient's oral cavity.
It is also known to support a light source from a headband worn by a physician to illuminate an area being viewed by the physician. For example, within U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,257 to Kloots et al., a medical headlight apparatus is disclosed wherein a fiber optic cable transmits light to a headband worn by the physician. The headband supports a housing including an illuminating lens for directing light transmitted by the fiber optic cable toward the field being viewed by the physician. While being an improvement over the above-described overhead light source, the medical headlight apparatus disclosed by Kloots et al. still does not permit the physician or other user to position the light source closely proximate the patient's mouth or other field of operation, and accordingly, the user's hands may block the light from reaching the desired region within the field of operation.
Moreover, many dentists and oral surgeons are now being required to wear facial splash guards during oral dental and medical procedures. These splashguards are typically supported about the head of the user. As a practical matter, it is a nuisance to wear both a facial splash guard and a headband mounted light source during such procedures.
Within the dental field, it is also known to incorporate a fiber optic light conductor within a dental handpiece for directing a beam of light at the area of the mouth at which the end of the dental handpiece is being directed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,457 to Gosselin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,590,232 to Sadowski, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,434 to Gonser et al. all relate to dental handtools provided with fiber optic illumination sources that are either attached to, or incorporated within, a dental handpiece for illuminating the area of the patient's mouth at which such dental instruments are directed. While such apparatus helps to illuminate the patient's mouth during drilling operations, the light source is part of the dental handpiece and is not available unless the dentist keeps the dental handpiece within the patient's mouth.
Dental handpieces are commercially available wherein the fiber optic cable that provides the source of light is bundled together with the pressurized air hose and exhaust hose used to operate the high speed turbine drill head within such dental handpiece. Such dental handpieces also may include yet another hose for conducting water to the tip of the dental handpiece for cooling the drill and/or the area of the patient's mouth that is being drilled. All of these hoses must be passed through the dental handpiece, and accordingly, their are limitations imposed upon the size of the fiber optic cable that can be passed into the dental handpiece for purposes of illumination. Limitations placed upon the size/diameter of the fiber optic cable necessarily limit the amount of light that can be directed into the patient's mouth.
In addition, dental handpieces that include fiber optic light paths and light emitting lenses tend to be significantly more expensive than those dental handpieces which omit such fiber optic light paths. While the cost of a single dental handpiece incorporating fiber optic lighting could be borne by most dentists, such dental handpieces must be sterilized in an autoclave between uses in order to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases from patient to patient. The requirement for sterilization between uses effectively requires a dentist to maintain several of such dental handpieces in a dental office to avoid delays between patient examinations. Thus, the additional cost of a dental handpiece equipped with a fiber optic lighting channel is multiplied several times.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fiber optic illumination system for dentists, oral surgeons, physicians and the like, for illuminating the oral cavity or other field of operation, wherein the light source can be positioned closely proximate the oral cavity or other field of operation.
It is another object of the present invention to provide such an illumination system wherein the light source can easily be directed by the user at a selected location within the oral cavity or other field of operation.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide such an illumination system that is compact to avoid restrictions upon the mobility of the user and to avoid interference with other dental or medical tools that must be inserted into the field of operation.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination system which can be supported independently from a dental handpiece or other tool.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination system wherein the size and diameter of the fiber optic path are not restricted by the dimensions of a dental handpiece.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination system which can be sterilized between uses easily and economically.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination system which is inexpensive to construct and which is easy to use.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an illumination system which can be used with fiber optic light sources that may already be present within the dental or medical office.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.